some digital questions

Is it a good idea to change the brightness of the evf/lcd so the image is as close to what you see in reality, or to leave the setting at "0" even if the evf/lcd is rather brighter than life at that setting?
 
That is kind of up to you. Sometimes you may want it to be close to what the exposed capture gives you, other times you won’t/can’t have that, esp. when working with flash.
 
I was fiddling with the finepix s5800 the other day and while looking at a large reflection of the sun on a meatl surface, there was a column of light above and below the reflection. Is this a common thing on digital cameras, does it affect ccd's more than cmos etc. and if it is common what can be done about it?

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Thanks for point me in the right direction, Shawn. Some of the photos in the explanations that I've just seen would suggest that's it. After a tiny bit of further reading, it seems that the only thing that can fix the issue is to hit the camera with a hammer.(y) It seems that this "bloom" mostly only affects ccd sensors and the horizontal blooming that affects cmos sensors only occurs in specific circumstances and may not be noticeable unless you raise the shadows or lower end of the graph a bit too much.
 
I may as well put this question here as well:

I see after-market batteries and chargers for fujiflm cameras and was wondering if they are a good idea and if there are any brands to avoid?

The fjui cameras I have now only used AA batteries but It's possible that I may consider getting a fujifilm X-S1 and that uses a specific battery (NP-95) which has a specific charger for it. However, I'm a little reluctant to go down this route on account of having had to throw away a perfectly good, working vacuum cleaner because the charger stopped working after a couple f months, and the makers had stopped making that model and so they couldn't supply a charger and the wesbite they sent me too didn't have any, and the charger couldn't be bought in electrical shops because they were too specific .

As per usual any help would be much appreciated.
 
In some cases you cannot charge a battery from one manufacturer with the charger of a different make eg due to over-charge protection circuitry talking to something proprietary in the battery. And some cameras for example will only charge certain own brand batteries in-camera. But other cameras/chargers don't seem to care what the make of the battery is. I think I had this kind of incompatibility between original Fuji X100T batteries and an Ex-Pro charger.

If you are buying a camera no longer made, it's worth checking where you can get replacement batteries and a charger from first. Amazon, Aliexpress for example; it's surprising what you sometimes find is still available.
 
I use generic batteries and chargers. For Leica and Pentax I use company chargers and generic batteries. Sony allows generic batteries and chargers. All have worked well so far. HB is their battery and their charger. That's all there is. There is no problem getting either, however.
 
Thank you Joe and boojum for the replies and the info. I've seen several battery/charger combos being sold as "for" or "comaptible with" fuji NP-95 and was generally considering only using the batteries they come with in those chargers. Some seem to only come with usb cables and some come with wall plug cables, and most of them seem a little too cheap for comfort, lol. On top of that, many batteries seem to have a higher "mAh" number than the fuji np-95, eg 2100mAh compared to 1800mAh so ther's that adding to the worry. I presume the 2100mAh batteries wouldn't be fully charged by the fuji charger as it would be working with the idea that the battery has a mAh number of 1800?
 
seany65 said:
Thank you Joe and boojum for the replies and the info. I've seen several battery/charger combos being sold as "for" or "comaptible with" fuji NP-95 and was generally considering only using the batteries they come with in those chargers. Some seem to only come with usb cables and some come with wall plug cables, and most of them seem a little too cheap for comfort, lol. On top of that, many batteries seem to have a higher "mAh" number than the fuji np-95, eg 2100mAh compared to 1800mAh so ther's that adding to the worry. I presume the 2100mAh batteries wouldn't be fully charged by the fuji charger as it would be working with the idea that the battery has a mAh number of 1800?
Click to expand...

I buy from B&H which is a reputable store with return policies. That may help my batting average.
 
boojum said:
I use generic batteries and chargers. For Leica and Pentax I use company chargers and generic batteries. Sony allows generic batteries and chargers. All have worked well so far. HB is their battery and their charger. That's all there is. There is no problem getting either, however.
Click to expand...
I have used manufacturer and generic batteries (when available) for whole bunches of cameras. In general, the manufacturer supplied batteries last longer per charge and remain serviceable longer.

I have used mostly the manufacturers' chargers, but Nitecore.com has offered chargers for a couple of Leica models over the years. I had one for the CL betteries (a common Panasonic-used battery) and I have one for the M10's BP-CL5 batteries (a dual slot charger).

G
 
My XE2 came with a generic brand battery. After a few charges I found it was more difficult to take it out of the camera.

This got worse and finally somehow the battery expanded and was well and truly stuck fast in the XE2. No amount of genteel cajoling or gentle push-pull pressure or anything short of a crowbar would have got it out.

Fortunately in this case, I'm not a tool type and I didn't have a crowbar handy, which surely saved the camera from sudden extinction syndrome.

My used camera dealer is handy with tools. He took my camera to his workshop and extracted the damn battery by drilling it out. Fortunately it was out of charge so he didn't get electrocuted (assuming this is possible with one Fuji battery).

I then bought a used battery he had in stock, and as we say down here in roo country, Bob's your uncle.

For this reason I personally will never buy a generic brand battery.

Being by nature an overthinker, I've now concluded it's entirely possible I had the one and only dud in the entire production run of said generic brand. This because nobody I know with a Fuji camera and generic batteries has ever complained about this, at least not to me.

So... Maybe we should just forget the whole thing.
 
Last edited:
Any battery can bulge over time. I have had it happen a couple of times. Essentially, once they start to get a little more difficult to get in/out I stop using that battery.

Instead of drilling try super/hot gluing something to the base of the battery to help get it out. Drilling risks the battery bursting into flames.
 
seany65 said:
And what, pray tell, is wrong with hitting the stuck battery with a hammer? :unsure:
Thanks to everyone for the further replies and info.
Click to expand...

Um, likely nothing except 1- if you damage your camera by doing so, and 2- it often does nothing in terms of removing a battery which has swollen and jammed itself in the battery receptacle by doing so.

In a pinch, whack away ... and plan what camera you're going to replace the current one with the stuck battery with. ;)

G
 
seany65 said:
And what, pray tell, is wrong with hitting the stuck battery with a hammer? :unsure:

Thanks to everyone for the further replies and info.
Click to expand...

I don't own a hammer. I had one, but a neighbour in Tasmania borrowed it seven years ago and he never returned it. We no longer reside in Tasmania, so I've lived without it, nicely, thank you.

Alas, I'm a total dud in the DIY and tools areas. If I need something manually done SO goes next door to borrow the necessary tool/s and fixes it for me.

In a way I'm relieved I didn't hammer out the battery. XE2s are now so rare secondhand in AUS, I doubt I would have found another one. In the two years I've had mine, I know of only one that came on the market - it lasted about an hour. Ditto XE1s, I've not seen even one on offer. Similarly, XE3s never ever turn up secondhand, and I know only one photographer who owns an XE4, it seems those are as rare as finding diamonds on Bondi Beach in Sydney...

From the results I get with my XE2, I understand why photographers cherish them so much, and hang on to them.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom